The local dining picture has seen some additions and a few changes recently, and will soon see a few more, as businesses change hands, refocus their intentions or find new digs that better suit their needs. Here are a few of those changes.
- Louis’s The Ton is no more, transmogrified into The Butchertown Social under its new owner, Isaiah Hoagland. The reconceived neighborhood bar at 1601 Story Ave. reopened in the middle of June, with some renovations to the space, including the addition of a grill and small kitchen and a beer garden in the back. A performance stage is under construction, and the walls will feature art from local artists that will rotate every month or two.
- The Planet, a popular Highlands bar and meeting place currently at the corner of Bardstown Rd. and Alta Ave., will be moving in the near future to a larger space at 2232 Bardstown Rd., in the Tom Drexler Plumbing building that formerly housed the Bourbon & Belles drive-thru liquor store. Planet Bar owner Cathy Wright plans to move the last week of September and hopes to be open by Oct. 4. It’ll continue to be open until then at 1565 Bardstown Road.The space will quadruple to 4,000 square feet; Wright plans to add a full stage for live music, three bars, a VIP lounge and dance floor, according to a story in Insider Louisville.
- Match Cigar Bar has opened a second location in New Albany, at 147 E. Main St., in addition to its original location at 207 Spring St. in Jeffersonville. The new store will offer a a full menu of bourbons, craft cocktails, beer and wine, in addition to premium smokes. It also will serve food from neighboring restaurant Urban Bread Co.
- ToGo Sushi has opened in Lyndon in the former Bruster’s Ice Cream shop located at 700 Lyndon Lane. ToGo offers primarily drive-thru sushi-to-go, but it does have a five-seat bar and three small tables inside. ToGo Owner Chet Gurun also owns Samurai Sushi & Hibachi at 12901 Shelbyville Rd. in Middletown and is also part owner of Oishii Sushi near Bowman Field. ToGo Sushi bases its offerings around basic sushi ingredients: salmon, tuna, shrimp, crab, roe, eel and a few others, If sushi isn’t your thing, there are items like fried oysters, fried calamari and shrimp tempura, as well as some vegetarian options.
- Shine’s Diner has opened at 3400 W, Market St., at the corner of Market and 34th streets, selling soul food, seafood, burgers and wings and Philly cheesesteak fries, with steak, green onions, green peppers, mozzarella and cheddar cheese. The restaurant pays tribute to the brother of owner Mary Jenefor, Joshua “Shine” Jenefor, who was shot and killed at the Sheppard Square apartments in Smoketown on July 4, 2011, at the age of 27. Jenefor said that it was always her brother’s dream to open a restaurant, and she wanted to carry that on for him.
- Haymarket Bistro is the new ground-level lunch spot in Atria Senior Living, 300 E. Market St. The former employee cafeteria is now serving lunch to downtown workers. At the same time, Haymarket Bistro is a training facility for staff and will research and development new recipes, allowing the company to gather information about what potential future residents enjoy. The new Haymarket Bistro will allow Atria to test recipes on the general public before they appear on menus at its senior living facilities.The menu includes dishes such as a salmon salad with kale, quinoa, walnuts and white raisins with apple cider vinegar dressing; egg whites with spinach; and grilled cheese with tomato soup. In general, the menu will offer healthy foods but also offer some warm comfort foods. Menu items will rotate throughout the year as regionally grown ingredients go in and out of season.
- New Wave Burritos, which started out as a late-night delivery operation in a borrowed space in the Cure Lounge, has been in its own storefront since the first of the year. It moved into the funky cinderblock building at 3311 Preston Hwy. that was the original stable home of Grind Burger Kitchen. New Wave is still delivering its popular burritos, but also has sit-down space for its fans to hang out in, and is open for lunch as well as for late-night noshing.
- Highland Morning has expanded its St. Matthews location, nearly doubling the seating less than a year after it opened. The restaurant, at 111 St. Matthews Ave., added almost 40 more seats when it took over the adjoining storefront that was formerly a dress shop.
